Reviving A Rigby With CCLby Ross Seyfried

I have owned this gun for
decades and each time I opened the case my heart fell. Not only had some
fool cut the butt and added a Pachmayr pad, but they stuck in a crudely
ground wood extension and then they covered the 2-inch atrocity with an
ill fitted piece of saddle leather. I was hesitant to try to make it better
because most wood butt extensions look like a piece of wood stuck on the end
of the stock. Finally after many years my confidence developed to a level
that I thought I could at least try to achieve perfection.

When you fit a
butt extension, unlike the proper fitting of a recoil pad, you have to sand
into the original wood. This removes the old finish and texture about half
way up the butt. To make a really good extension, once the new wood had been
fitted, the new FINISH and colour must match the rest of the original stock.
Therefore it was absolutely necessary that the “new” finish be the same as
the old/original finish and that finish probably would have been linseed oil
with alkanet root.

The only way I know to get there from here is CCL Traditional Oil
Finishing Kit. This is the real thing: red root oil, drier, and a special
burnishing polish. This is not a quick finish, but to me it is an easy
finish to apply. You first soak the wood with several coats of the
non-drying red oil (until the colour begins to look correct, or until the
wood will take no more; by the way, red root oil is not really red when it
oxidizes, but it develops that deep, rich golden/amber/slightly reddish
hue.) Then the drier goes on to
harden the soaked-in oil. Next we begin to put on wee bits of oil and drier
mixed. This very thin coat is allowed to stand for an hour or so to thicken
and then almost all of it is wiped off with a cloth. Finally the slight
remaining traces of thickened oil are hand-rubbed into the wood. Each coat
(when dry) is followed by a good rub-down with the polish, and then another
similar coat is applied. These coats are almost microscopic in thickness and
are essentially “in the wood”. It will eventually fill even deep
pores (this takes perhaps 10 to 20 coats and a month or more). One of the
deep dark secrets to a perfect finish is PATIENCE. In good conditions allow
48 hours between coats and several days between coats is not a bad idea. And
then one day you realize you have it. The finish is perfect, all pores
filled and the texture is wonderful. It is not quite shiny, but not boringly
dull either . . . and it will AGE! Just like a Rigby from 1880!!!

The CCL Traditional Oil Finishing Kit comes with very fine and complete
instructions. All you have to do is follow them and be patient. Like most
good things of old, this is not instant, but it can be extremely fine. It is
not only good for “repairs” like this one, but in my opinion the best finish
you can use on any classic stock, new or old, that has not been varnished or
French polished.